On Friday, District Court Judge Richelle Wahi dismissed five counts of public embezzlement and five counts of theft by swindle in the case against Hastings wrestling coach and assistant principal Josh McLay. A pretrial order from Judge Wahi dismisses ten counts of the Dakota County Criminal Complaint, based upon an interpretation of the law that these counts are outside of the statute of limitations. Six counts of this criminal complaint, three each of embezzlement of public funds and theft by swindle, are not affected by this decision and remain in place. The Dakota County Attorney’s Office is currently reviewing this court order and will determine if there is a basis to appeal and challenge this court ruling. Judge Wahi’s court order follows a hearing in June where McLay’s legal team detailed its hope to have ten of the charges dismissed, due to the statute of limitations. Minnesota law states that a person cannot be tried three years after a theft, unless the theft is valued at over $35,000. McLay is accused of misusing $13,900 in public funds from incidents across 2011 to 2018.
